fleets: I can't believe it but early-ish update!
Chapter 14: Harajuku Makeover
"The symbol on my hand is the Triforce of Courage," Link explained while Zelda and Gale leaned forward to take a better look. To a normal person, the gold triangle could have passed for a cheap tattoo, but both Zelda and Gale seemed to recognize it as something special. "You might have heard a little about the Triforce. There are three in all, representing Courage, Wisdom, and Power. They represent the powers of the three goddesses."
"I would never have believed it," Gale began, appearing to have difficulty forming words, "but after all that I've seen so far with Skull Kid I don't know what's unbelievable anymore."
Link moved his hand back from Gale who was just a little too close to it for comfort. There was a hungry glint in his eye. "There's a pattern in history where the three holders of the Triforce will simultaneously appear in an era under a conflict usually begun by the holder of Power. I was once part of a complicated seven-year struggle with Ganondorf, the holder of Power. I wouldn't have made it without the help of the holder of Wisdom." He noticed Zelda looking at the back of her own hands. "It was you, Zelda. Or rather, your predecessor."
Zelda shook her head. "I… I don't know what you're saying. A part of me feels that what you're saying is true, but this sounds so radical."
Gale glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah, Link. She doesn't even have that triangle you have."
Link scratched his head. "I'm not too sure of this myself, but from what Farore told me the Triforce was supposed to lie dormant for this era. The holders themselves would exist because they would be reincarnated, but the actual conflict wouldn't take place. She told me that in this era, 'the hero is no longer here.' I think this is why you can't see your Triforce, Zelda. However, this can all change with the upset that happened with Skull Kid and myself. Basically, Skull Kid and I did some unintentional time travelling to the future that screwed everything up."
Zelda looked at Link the same way Gale had done back when he'd explained who Vaati was, while Gale had his head in his hands looking miserable. Somewhere from between his palms, Gale's muffled voice groaned in exasperation, "Do you realize just how insane you sound?"
"I know it's not easy to believe me," Link agreed. "But I don't know what else to tell you. Just hear me out and pretend you believe me for now."
Zelda seemed to be thinking of something. "The story of the Triforce; I've heard it before as a children's story my father used to tell me. There were so many variations, but they were always about an evil man kidnapping a princess, and then a brave boy saving her."
"I've heard it too." Gale chipped in. "But there was also one about a one-eyed monster. Are you going to say that monsters actually existed too?" He neglected to mention he had read about this fact in the children's section of the local library in New Jersey.
A nostalgic look came over Link. "The story your father used to tell you actually happened. I was that boy who lost seven years of his life trying to save the princess from the King of Darkness. The princess's name was also Zelda, and the king's name was Ganondorf, too. Back in my time, thousands of years ago from this age, there were also stories of princesses, heroes, and evil kings; history really does repeat itself, especially those dealing with the Triforce." He turned to Gale. "Funny you should mention the one-eyed monster, by the way. That's an even older story, and the monster was always called by another title: The Sorcerer of Winds."
Gale frowned. "What? Vaati again? But I thought you said I looked like him, and I'm no one-eyed freak. Your stories aren't consistent."
"Vaati had become so power hungry that he'd abandoned humanity for it." Link shrugged. "I already explained this to you, but I don't know much about Vaati besides what Farore told me."
"And that's what really makes me question your sanity – the fact that you actually think you spoke to a goddess." Gale retorted.
"Who is Vaati?" Zelda asked.
"Vaati is the Wind Mage who'd terrorized Hyrule a long time ago when he was after something called the Light Force, which is similar to the Triforce."
"And he was reincarnated too?"
Link glanced over at Gale who was listening sourly. "Apparently. Even though he doesn't have the Triforce, he managed to figure something out." Link paused. Should I say it now? Yeah, why not. We want him to remember things now if possible. "But Vaati screwed up."
Gale's frown deepened. "Hm?"
"Vaati's wish was to live forever so he could be god forever. He came up with a reincarnation spell that would allow him to reincarnate like the Triforce holders every time he died. What Vaati forgot to take into account was that every time he died, he would lose all of his memories of his old life and they would be buried in his subconscious just like the Triforce holders' memories. In effect, he lost all of his knowledge of his old abilities and could no longer go back to being the most powerful sorcerer alive. He had to go back to being an average person – something he would have despised being."
They were all quiet for sometime, with Link and Zelda watching Gale closely. Creases had appeared on the silver haired teen's forehead, and he was sitting tense in his seat. Minutes passed, and for a second Link thought he was going to have to deal with a very dangerous sorcerer in the train car. That is, until Gale asked skeptically, "and you think that I'm his reincarnation, do you?"
Link blinked. "Uh, yeah. I'm almost one-hundred-percent convinced you're him." Oh well. I guess if it was that easy to get him to remember then Farore wouldn't have called it a 'curse.'
Gale scoffed. "Why? Under what reason?"
"Your attitude for one. Vaati was described as arrogant and womanizing."
"Really…" Zelda mused.
Gale managed to look offended. "So what?! First off, that could apply to anybody. Second, why are you looking like you believe this nutcase's claims?" He rounded on Zelda who had a funny expression.
She had trouble hiding her discomfort. "Well, you are arrogant and womanizing. But I was also thinking more about what you were like at the staircase…"
"What staircase?" Gale demanded. He looked to Link who was nodding, and then back to Zelda who was gazing at her feet. "What staircase?" he repeated. "You mean the one back where a bunch of those suit guys blocked us? I'm pretty sure I was just like my usual… self…" he trailed off. He hesitated, and then a slightly panicked expression came over him as his eyes widened. "I… I don't remember…" he stammered, losing his cool. "Why don't I remember?"
"I don't know much about you," Zelda said quietly, "but even I could tell that you'd become a different person. You managed to take down all of those men without even touching them."
Gale's eyes were hidden by the long bangs that draped over half of his face. He sounded uncharacteristically scared. "I don't know if I want to believe you or not." His voice wavered. "On one hand, I can't help but feel excited if it really was true that I'm capable of sorcery. On the other hand, I don't like the idea that I never knew who I was. I always took comfort in knowing that there was one certainty in my life; that I knew who I was."
Zelda was slightly touched by Gale's confession. He didn't seem to be the type to share troubles, and this shed a new light on his actual character. She'd never seen him so vulnerable. Maybe she'd misjudged him a little.
"This is insane!" he lashed out defensively. Gale glared at Link who was watching him calmly. "What do you want from me? What does Vaati have to do with all of this? Why couldn't you just leave me alone?"
"I wouldn't have needed your help if I'd gotten the Ocarina of Time from Skull Kid. I missed the opportunity, and now I need a way to the Palace of Winds. The thing is, Vaati is the only person who knows how to get there." Link began to explain what Farore had told him. He explained the power of the Ocarina of Time, and the history of what had happened with the six shrine maidens and the four elements that could open the path to the palace. He told them about the flood that would come if a hero didn't appear in time to stop evil, and that the thing Avilux I was trying to revive was actually the chaotic fourth part of the Triforce that Farore had named "the Lord of the Three." With the appearance of Ganondorf, Link was sure that the spirits of the shrine maidens would trigger the flood since the hero was absent. He rationalized that it would be safer if they stopped the spirits, and then took care of Avilux Ignis and Ganondorf later. "Because," he said somewhat bitterly, "I'm the Hero of Time."
Zelda rubbed her forehead. "This is so overwhelming. But if what you say is true, then we don't have too much time."
"You're going to believe him, just like that?" Gale asked. Zelda appeared confused, her head shaking back and forth.
"I don't know. I don't know anything! But I saw what you did, I saw what Skull Kid can do, and a part of me says that this is all real no matter how unbelievable it is."
The normally cocky, confident Gale opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again to say something. Changing his mind, no voice came out and he slumped back down in his seat. Gale mumbled something inaudible.
"What's that?" Link prodded.
"I said," Gale glowered, "I'll… I'll help."
Now it was Link's turn to look skeptical. "Really?"
"Look, don't make this any harder than it is. Yes, I'll help. No, I'm not doing it for you or the world. I'm doing it because I want to know what the hell is going on with me, Vaati, and Avilux I. If I had any other explanation for what happened at the staircase or my weird memory lapses, I wouldn't even consider helping you." Gale brooded. "Actually, I'd like you to think we're only going to 'work together' because our goals just happen to coincide."
"All right." Link grinned. For a second he thought Gale had lost it since it wasn't like him to agree to help. This whole justification of helping was more like him.
A bell chimed and they heard an announcement in Japanese. Following afterwards was an English translation. "We are now approaching Shinjuku."
The three teens tensed. This was their stop, and none of them knew if Dugal was going to have an ambush waiting for them at the station. They had been safe in the confines of the bullet train, but now that they were about to exit anything could happen. Gathering their belongings, they filed out slowly with the rest of the crowd.
"We'll talk about this later," Link said. The others agreed.
"Stay sharp," Gale warned.
They cautiously walked with the people moving towards the exit stairs. There were so many people coming from all different directions that they were naturally swept in one direction like driftwood floating in a river. Link, Gale, and Zelda were especially wary of men in business suits, and none of them felt comfortable since there were so many of them walking around the station at this hour. It was late afternoon when many business people were coming home from work.
While they were walking, Gale noticed Zelda suddenly stiffen. He knew something was up when she swerved over to the yellow Peeps souvenir vendor and slowed down so she was next to its shadow. Gale and Link followed suit, trying not to look suspicious.
"We have a problem," she whispered sharply. The two boys pretended to go through the gift wrapped boxes while she talked. "Those guys – they're following us."
A quick glance behind them revealed one foreigner and one Japanese man leaning casually against a pillar. The Japanese man was talking quickly into his cell phone. They were both wearing red ties like the ones the Avilux I members had been wearing, and when they noticed them look at them, they began to walk in their direction with a sense of purpose.
Link spun around and started to walk away quickly. Gale and Zelda followed him.
"What are we going to do?" Gale hissed. "We can't just go to the hotel with them following us."
Link zigzagged through the evening rush. His head snapped from one sign to another, and then quickened his pace after he heard the sound of a train pulling into the station. He watched a woman go running up the steps, panting, in a hurry to catch the train. Seeing the men behind them picking up their pace as well, Link decided to run. "This way," he said sharply.
The three suddenly entered a sprint. The two men who had been behind them started to run as well, confirming the three's suspicions that they had been following them; it was evident Dugal had been planning ahead. People who were too slow to move out of their way were pushed aside. The race was on.
The train was packed with people to the point that many were squished up against the doors like sardines in a can. Link hesitated, trying to find a place to squeeze into the train. Gale, who was less worried about politeness, ran ahead and picked a train car to ride. "Hurry up!" he shouted as he forcefully pushed himself onto the car.
Zelda jumped in next, cramming right next to Gale as the other passengers grumbled about the crowdedness. She craned her neck to look for Link. "Link! The train's going to leave!"
Link made it to the door of the train car just as the sound of pressure releasing whistled from the train. His hand reached out for the doors when –
"Ugh!"
"No!" Zelda exclaimed as Link was thrown backwards. The men had managed to catch up to them and had grabbed Link by the collar. The girl took a reactionary step towards Link to help, but froze when the second man approached quickly. Link's voice helped her snap back.
"Zelda! Stay back, don't get caught!" He gasped for air as his captor dragged him backwards.
The doors slowly began to close shut, and the remaining man rushed to get through. Without missing a beat, Gale stuck his foot out and pushed him outside, careful not to trigger the pressure sensor on the doors that would cause them to open again. "Stand back," he growled. With one last forceful kick, Gale managed to hurl him onto the station platform. The door closed tightly, and the two teens watched in horror as Link was knocked unconscious with a sharp whack to the back of his head. Gale and Zelda gazed through the glass panes to see Link falling farther behind with the two men.
"Tch." Gale's face twitched. Next to him, Zelda had her cheek pressed against the window. Neither of them was aware of the uncomfortable and curious stares that were directed towards them. There was a murmur of "gaijins," foreigners, for a while before they subsided and people lost interest.
Red eyes narrowed, trying to decipher the train path that was posted on top of the doors. Gale had no idea where they were going, or how they were going to get Link back. Whether or not he really wanted to save Link was another matter all together, but he figured he was only going to get real answers on Vaati if that prick was with him. Right now, however, getting Link back wasn't their major problem.
"We are now approaching Harajuku."
Zelda looked up worriedly. "Gale," she grabbed his arm.
Gale nodded. "I know. They're probably going to expect us here too."
The train screeched to a stop, and people shuffled around to rearrange themselves. Some people pushed forward to exit the train, while others pressed farther back to let people through. Others wrestled around to nab an open seat. Gale proved to be a keen spotter when he violently pulled on Zelda's sleeve and led her out of the train. Looking back, Zelda saw why; more red-tied men who were craning their necks as though they were looking for someone were standing in line to board their train car. Ducking their heads to minimize the chance of having their conspicuous bright hair from being seen, Gale and Zelda rushed out of Harajuku station. Gale grimaced when he heard a shout.
"Oh for the love of Nayru – I hope you can run fast princess."
They ran for their lives, ignoring the people who pointed at them wondering what was going on. Behind them a group of at least five Avilux I members were running after them, some of them giving orders with a cell phone. Zelda could tell already that things were going to get worse. The two jumped over the ticket gates, surprising everyone around them, and skipped the stairs two at a time to exit out into the Harajuku district. Outside, they weaved through the narrow sidewalk next to a busy main street. Shoving people out of the way, they tried to lose their pursuers.
"We can't go on like this," Zelda gasped between breaths.
"Well, do you have better ideas?"
Zelda didn't. The only thing she could think of was to do what they were doing now – use the cover of people to hopefully confuse their pursuers. "Over here," she turned into a street on the right when she saw a suspicious looking car coming up behind them with some men who resembled the Avilux I members. The street she had turned into was one of Japan's 'pedestrian paradises,' a throughway where no cars were allowed. She could see no paradise about it, however, since the place was jam packed with window shoppers who were there to visit the little shops lining the sides.
That was when she noticed something different about Harajuku compared to other cities in Japan she'd been to. Occasionally, they ran into some people who were wearing something that could have come straight out of an anime. Their hair was colored and spiked in the most bizarre way and their clothes were almost like intricate and extremely detailed Halloween costumes. There were princess-like girls in frilly dresses walking with punks in spiked leather trench coats with platform boots. She looked behind them to see the red-tied men following them frantically, and then she started peeking at the various stores around the streets. She got an idea. "Gale, do you see that store over there, just ahead of us?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"We're going in there. Just make sure we're not seen by the guys following us."
Gale didn't ask why, since he figured from the girl's determined face that she knew what she was doing. Upon reaching the shop, they slipped through the crowd and moved inside.
"Irra-shaimase." A young girl greeted them from behind the cash register. Her hair was tied back with white ribbons into two pigtails, and she was wearing a dress that resembled the outfit of a gothic doll. Her fashion was also unusual – she was covered in laces and frills from head to toe. She giggled in a childlike manner, and Gale would have found her cute if he didn't feel like he was a pedophile around this overly cutesy, childish girl.
"Okay, now what?" Gale asked Zelda who had slid behind the store's merchandise and away from the windows. "I assume you have an idea of some sort?" He ducked his head behind a mannequin as the Avilux I men ran past the store.
"Ah! Americans?" The girl behind the register bounced. She spoke English with a slight accent. "We get many tourist here. I can speak a little English."
Out of habit, Gale hovered over to the register to chat while Zelda rummaged around the various odd fashions hanging around. "Your English is very good, actually."
"Really? I don't like my accent."
"Nonsense. Your accent's cute."
Zelda coughed in the background. "Stop fooling around. Help me pick something out."
"Pick something out? Wait, since when are we shopping?" Gale blinked. He reached over and picked out a long, feathery purple jacket from a hangar. Then, he looked around at the other more fantastic merchandise. "I never would have thought you were interested in this sort of thing, dearie."
Zelda, looking annoyed, popped up from behind some racks. "You noticed how much we stand out, right? Especially with our light hair?"
Gale arched his brows. "And you think these clothes will make us stand out even less?"
"Did you see how some of the people out there dressed? If we can look like them, then we might be able to slip by because we'll be just Harajuku style teenagers. Remember, they'll be looking for two foreigners; a girl with long blond hair and a guy with white hair wearing a plain hoodie."
"Oh." Gale didn't seem to be buying into the idea so well. He turned to the Lolita girl. "Hey, what kind of people buys these kinds of clothes?"
The girl grinned. "You don't know? This is Takeshita Street. One of the more popular places in Harajuku for shopping. People come here to buy Gothic Lolita, visual kei, and punk clothes." Going into another of her girlish giggles, she pointed at the jacket Gale was still holding. "That visual kei jacket goes well with your hair."
Gale took another look at the jacket he was holding. It was as long as his knees, and it was a dark purple color with a black collar. Two gold chains were clipped to the front, and dark feathers lined some of the edges. Looks kinda cool, he thought. What he said instead was, "This is ridiculous."
Zelda peeked back around, carrying a few handfuls of different clothes. She went up to the girl by the register, pushing Gale aside. "I have a favor I want to ask. In return, I promise to buy a few merchandise from your store and maybe a little extra for your help."
Lolita girl perked up. "Ara? How may I help?"
"Both of us want a complete Harajuku makeover as quickly as possible. Can you help us find something? Everything from shoes to headpieces, please."
"Hai! Of course! You look like you like cute and pink, so would you like Lolita style? Like what I'm wearing?" The girl was quick to abandon her post at the register. She had customers now who wanted a complete set! These foreigners were a lot better than the usual customers who only came to look, or bought only one or two small items.
Zelda took off her pink fleece jacket and tossed it over in a corner. "No. I want something completely different."
"Then you might like cross between punk and Lolita. Both edgy and cute."
In an instant, Gale found himself very much alone holding a ridiculous jacket while the two girls moved further into the shop to look for things. He found the price tag and turned it over in his hands, and the number of zeroes he saw made him sweat. Gale gave a small shout over to the girls. "Hey, we're not really buying stuff here, are we? Are you saying you can afford this stuff?"
"Of course we are. It's all right. I'm willing to pay for our 'disguises.'" Zelda replied, picking out a black headband with a seagull feather and walking off towards the dressing room with Lolita girl. "By the way, Megumi is going to help you next so have something in mind."
"Huh?" Gale asked. "Megumi?" He watched the two disappear from view. He awkwardly walked around the store for a little bit, not feeling comfortable in looking at clothes he would never touch under normal circumstances. After several minutes, however, he began to casually flip through the clothes while still pretending to look disinterested. Gale glanced from side to side, and then picked up an expensive looking gold belt with a red gem in the middle, a spiked collar, and a black vest. "I'm just curious, I'm not actually going to wear any of this stuff," he said aloud to no one in particular. Before long, he was going through things he thought matched together, and taking note of some photos of Harajuku people that were posted on the walls. Gale would never admit he was actually really into this kind of thing.
XXXXXXX
Half an hour later, Gale and Zelda were trying their outfits that Megumi, the girl at the register, had arranged for them. Zelda was wearing a tight fitting blue and black top with hot pink highlights, with pink edged white fur on the sleeves. A high collared, grey ninja style cloth with blue symbols draped over her shoulders and covered half of her face. For a touch of Lolita style, she wore a black and pink frilled skirt, striped high socks, and thick-bottomed knee-high boots.
"Aaaw, you're so kakko-kawaii, Zelda-san!" Megumi said as Zelda spun in front of the mirror. "Cute and cool. Gale-san is cho-kakkoii. Super cool."
Gale grumbled, straightening out wrinkles in his jacket. Gale was purple, black, and gold in color. He had stuck with the long jacket he'd had earlier, as well as the gold spiked collar, black vest, and the jeweled belt. He also had a white cloth wrapped across the bridge of his nose – he had no idea what it was for but he'd been told it would add to the visual kei culture. Also, since Gale had insisted on keeping his purple and black DC skate shoes, Megumi had forced him to pick out buckled fashion leg warmers to put over them. "Leg warmers on guys? Ugh."
"It's not too bad looking, Gale. I mean, look at some of those visual kei posters – you look kinda like them," Zelda said, taking the headband she'd picked earlier and replacing it with the pink one she'd had on. She tossed her long yellow hair and frowned. "There's something off about what I'm wearing."
"Then maybe you want makeup. Wait a second and I'll find something." Lolita girl walked off with a small skip. "I will let you use my things." When she came back, Zelda had taken out her color contacts and had tried one on.
Zelda had her nose nearly touching the mirror, taking a look at her new blood-red eyes that could compete with Gale's. "Hmm, a little better but something's still not right."
Megumi set her makeup box down and began to line up various eyeliners, face paint, and eye shadow. "Colored contact was nice touch." She turned to Gale who was subtly angling himself in the mirror to find the best stance. "Gale-san has red eyes. Do you wear contact too?"
Gale whirled around, secretly enjoying the fact his jacket swirled around like a cape. "No. They're natural."
"Ah! Then Gale-san is natural for crazy Harajuku style."
Gale shrugged. "I suppose…" He stepped aside when Zelda strode over to the bathroom with a pair of scissors. He heard her say something about 'it's way too long.' A tap on his arm made him take his attention away from Zelda. Megumi was waving a tube in front of his face.
"Ah, look! I have some hair dye that would go with Gale-san's outfit. Since your hair is very white, it won't take long to do. Would you like to try?"
"Dye? My hair? I rather like it this way," Gale said, not too keen about someone touching his hair. He had pride in its shiny silky smoothness.
"It is temporary."
"I would rather not."
"Can we try a little? I will wash it out if you don't like it."
"No means no, sweetheart."
"I don't know, Gale. I think you should try." Zelda had returned, clipping the scissors in her hand. Gale and Megumi's jaw's dropped.
"Waaa! Zelda-san your hair!"
"Din's fire YOUR HAIR!"
Zelda tossed the scissors onto the make-up box, and then shook out strands of hair out of her head. Her long flowing gold hair had been roughly and crudely chopped right off at neck-level, so that she now sported a tomboyish look. Gale looked, and then looked again, trying to get used to this new Zelda instead of the old super feminine one.
"Are you mad?"
Zelda grinned. "I was just about getting tired of long hair anyway." She posed satisfactorily in front of the mirror. "It gets in the way of running, and it takes forever to wash. I also figured the Avilux I guys will have more trouble recognizing me."
Gale hung his head. "You cut your hair…"
"And?"
"It… it looks nice," he said weakly, still in shock from the unexpected.
"Good." Zelda picked up the tube of hair dye from Megumi. "Hmm, I think a light streak of color across your bangs might do the trick. That's not too bad, right?"
"We are not coloring my hair."
"If I could do this to my own hair then you should be able to stand a little bit of temporary hair dye!"
Gale gulped. Right now it was two against one for dying his hair. He could run outside and get to the station on his own, but the problem was he had two very determined girls standing in his way. Forcing them out of the way wasn't an option since he had a strong policy of being a gentleman to attractive ladies. He was a womanizing player, but that didn't mean he wasn't polite about it. Sometimes I hate my stupid policies. "Fine," he muttered.
"Fantastic. Oh, Megumi, can you help us with makeup later?"
"Of course! This is fun."
"Thank you so much."
Gale's face twitched. "I'm putting makeup on too?"
"Yes you are. It's not really visual kei without makeup."
Gale groaned. I can't believe I'm allowing this to happen.
XXXXXXX
Dugal stepped out of the taxi and stretched. The Reds had caught one of the teens at Shinjuku station, just as he'd expected, and had taken him to one of the parking garages in the large department stores. The garages were dark with a lot of cover, so no one would notice a teenager tied up in the backseat of a car. Dugal walked into the garage and took the elevator down to the lowest level. He took out his cell phone and dialed.
"Hello, this is Dugal speaking." A broken voice answered, and Dugal strained to hear. "White minivan? Sorry, the reception isn't too good; I can't hear you very well. Ah, don't worry, I'll find you." Hanging up, he strolled around the parking garage. A few minutes later, he was met with a Red who led him towards a white minivan in the corner of the garage. His partner was waiting for them by the van. Upon opening the door, he saw Link bound immobile in the backseat. The blond was breathing slowly in a peaceful rhythm.
"We've sedated him. He'll be out for another half an hour before he wakes up sir."
Dugal jumped into the car, taking a better look at the unconscious Link. "Where are the other two?" he asked mildly.
"We've lost them at Harajuku sir. We're still looking for them."
"Hmph. Well at least you managed to catch one of them. It's better than what my men were able to do, those idiots." Dugal reached into his pockets and rummaged around for something. "You two wouldn't want to be a replacement for Talon Three by any chance?"
"Uhh… sir?" The two men exchanged glances uncertainly.
"Haha! I was only kidding." Dugal laughed. He took out a small jar with a bunch of square electronic chips inside, each one with a thin antenna threading out of it. He gently took one out with a set of tweezers. "Micro tracking devices," he explained. "It's fairly recent technology, and was created for the purpose of tracking migrating insects over long distances. They're surprisingly useful. Do either of you have a knife by any chance?"
"Will this do?"
"That's wonderful." Dugal took the pocketknife that was handed to him. "I also need a first aid kit."
One of the men went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. He brought the kit back to Dugal who had turned Link over on his back so he could expose the back of his neck. Taking the kit, Dugal took a cotton swab and dabbed some alcohol before rubbing it down on the unconscious teen's neck. Next, he took the electronic chip he'd picked out earlier and pinched it so that a small green light blinked on once before going out. He waited a few minutes for the alcohol to dry, and then made a clean cut on Link's neck right by the shoulder blade.
"Just so you know, this procedure is completely harmless," Dugal said cheerfully to the two men who were watching nervously behind him. "Directly harmless. Its indirect hazards usually involve being placed in uncomfortable and occasionally frightening situations by yours truly."
Taking the chip, he inserted it carefully in the cut and threaded the wire through. After everything was done, the chip and antenna were hardly visible and looked more like a dark mole or birthmark. Dugal dabbed excess blood away from the area and waited for the blood to clot over so the scab would hide the chip even more. While waiting, he brought his hand to his ear and buzzed his three cohorts with his handless device.
"Sir?"
"Sir!"
"Sir."
Three voices answered.
"Report."
"This is Kestrel. We've managed to lose the police and we are all in your car heading towards Tokyo."
"Good, good. Go to Shinjuku, I'll speak with you by the hotel. But before that, can one of you look under the back seat of the car? There should be a business bag."
Hawk's voice answered. "Found it, sir. What did you need?"
"Look inside. There should be a laptop. Open it, and log on to the main user network, not my personal one."
"Done."
Dugal paced idly back and forth across the parking garage. The other two men backed away to a safe corner; neither of them really felt comfortable around this man.
"All right. Open the dnetArgos program and get it running. Once it's set up, tell me what you see."
There was a short pause as Hawk worked to follow instructions. Finally, he said, "There's a transmission from Shibuya, Tokyo."
Condor's voice interrupted. "You placed a tracker on someone, sir?"
Dugal smiled amiably. "I did. The Reds here managed to catch Mr. Petrov. I still need to find the other two, however, so we'll release him and let him lead us to his friends."
"How can we be sure they'll come back for him?"
"Do not doubt me, Condor. I've already thought of that. I'm going to retrieve the remaining two's passports from their hotel rooms and give it to Mr. Petrov for safekeeping. They will have to reunite if they wish to leave the country."
"Will they be able to find each other? Tokyo is a massive place."
"That," Dugal said, somewhat running out of patience, "is why we made sure to give them cell phones."
"Ah. Sorry sir."
"Never mind. I believe that is all. Oh, Kestrel? You're not driving are you?"
"No sir. Condor is, sir."
"All right. I want you to ring up the Reds over here. Let them know that they are not to bother Mr. Petrov or his friends until I say so. If they do manage to find Mr. Engst and Ms. Sterling, tell them to keep a close watch and report back to me."
"Yes sir."
Once he was done talking, Dugal snapped his fingers and called the nervous Reds over. He stepped into the van and pushed Link to the side so that he was no longer lying face down on the backseat. Then, he sat next to him and Made sure he was sitting upright with his seatbelt on. "All right boys," Dugal grinned. "Let's take Mr. Petrov somewhere isolated near the hotel. Do you have any ideas?"
"Uhh," the two men hesitated, fearful of giving the wrong answer. Dugal was cheery compared to the boss, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. They were spared to answer when Dugal came to an idea on his own.
"Let's see, ah! How about that park right next to the hotel? It's large enough, and there's even a shrine. Considering it's getting dark out," he waved his hand towards the purple colored sky, "we'll have an easier time slipping him past curious people."
"Umm, so we're going to Shinjuku Chuo Park?"
"Good lord, be more assertive! Yes, we're going to Shinjuku Chuo Park." Dugal tapped the side of his armrest merrily. "When we arrive, set him down somewhere where he wouldn't be bothered. In the meantime, I'll go to the hotel and find their passports. Keep a watch on him, and if anyone tries to rob him teach the fool a lesson. We will be his guardians for a short while." He laughed, finding irony in the statement. The other two didn't laugh, however, from sheer uneasiness. They didn't know how the ones in Talon Three could tolerate being with this guy without constantly fearing for their wellbeing.
It seemed the rumors that went around the underground about Dugal were true. He was good at completing tasks given. In fact, it was said he had never screwed up before and those he went after could never escape. He was the king amongst his raptors – like 'Condor,' 'Hawk,' and 'Kestrel,' it was said his nickname was the Helmaroc King.
They pitied the three teens for having fate set them up against such an impossible opponent.
Travel Log:
Shinjuku Station - One of the larger stations in Tokyo, this is one confusing train station. There are so many turns that exit out into different station platforms, and the sheer number of people walking about doesn't make anything easier. Everything about this place is white - it's like they thought using white would make the underground station brighter or something. Ugh, it's too claustrophobic for me. There's souvenir vendor here selling a snack called "Tokyo Banana": apparently it's Tokyo's famed food, but I also hear it's not very good.
Harajuku/Takeshita Street - It's really only crazy out here on the weekends; that's when all the crazy fashions start popping up everywhere. Takeshita street is popular for teenagers who are looking to shop for the unusual items associated with Harajuku fashion. It reminds me of the shopping streets in an amusement park since only pedestrians are allowed to walk this street.
fleets: Calling the red-tied folk the Reds has really been bugging me since it reminds me so much of Communism and makes this whole thing sound almost political. Also, couldn't help sticking that Helmaroc reference in there - it doesn't really mean much. I mean, Dugal's not actually Helmaroc (but it kinda sorta fits considering he's currently Ganondorf's best henchman). I still see more parallels with Dethl and Dugal, but since purple-tie guy is beginning to write his own character as this story progresses, he'll (hopefully) turn into someone completely unique.
One last quip before I shut up: Google map satellite view of Takeshita street and Harajuku helped me sooooo much when I was writing this. I feel like such a dork but I actually followed Gale and Zelda's running path to make sure it made sense in the scene.
Midna Hytwilian: I'm sorry your life hasn't been too great. :(
But Rrrrrr, Ganondorf managed to sneak in when I didn't even want him too! I'm beginning to think the same thing happened to Nintendo too.
Purplegc: Cliffies are torturous. I think I was dying from leaving it at the cliffie so I somehow managed to write an earlier update.
Ephriokko: Aws, thank you! I'm enjoying writing it too - I'll definitely stick with this one to the end :)
i-wish-a7x: I need to thank her (hey Midna Hytwilian! Thanks!); I'm happy you like it so far. I wasn't too sure about writing a modern Zelda at first because I was afraid it would lose the Zeldaverse feel, but I'm starting to really have fun writing it. This chapter was written with some intention of making Zelda less annoying (for me at least) because she didn't have too much of a personality earlier. Thank you for the review :)
SubZeroChimera: Whoohoo, grammatically approved :) Aaah, Vaati's return. I so so so want to get there I'm pulling my teeth in anticipation.
LinkxDarkLink: Thinking of WW and Ocarina, I see Zelda as a bit of a tomboy. So yeah, Sheik was definitely on my mind with the racing thing :)
henslight: I can't wait to write the plot twist! You'll definitely know when I get there (...I think. Actually, I'm not sure haha). Ah, this Ganondorf is different; I'm going under the premise that the three Triforce holders have been reincarnated (so new Zelda, new Ganondorf, and Link... well, that's a complication that has not been addressed yet). I can totally understand how you want them safe, but not. I feel the same (and probably why I keep causing trouble for them). XD
marium: I know right?! How did he sneak his way into this story too?! (bangs head). Zelda's not such a girlie in distress this time :P